Advent

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Advent is a season in Christianity that signifies the birth of Jesus in what know as the Christmas story.

Last night, Rev. Dr. Kate Unruh taught a class at Compassion Fix for Advent. Kate is a recent addition to our Compassion Fix coaching and therapy team. Her specialty is helping people with faith formation, coaching pastors, helping people discern their callings, and guiding people as they deepen or restore their faith. 

I found the class to be a dose of love to my soul and wanted to share my notes with you today. The people who read these Tuesday emails are of many faiths and stages of faith, but I think there might be something here for all of us to ponder from any faith background.

There are four books of the Bible that Christians refer to as the gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Kate led us through looking at the Christmas story (or lack of!) in each of the gospels, here is some of what I captured as the highlights:

Matthew

  • Family matters - the story of Jesus is woven into a family story - he provides a long list of the relatives of Jesus

  • Women and outsiders matter - he highlights women and outsiders in the list of Jesus’ family, showing us that God uses unexpected people and who Jesus is related to might surprise you

  • God is present - Matthew uses the name Emmanuel for Jesus which translates into “God with us”

  • Story is important - every thing and every one has a story…and a backstory, there is more than meets the eye in everyone of us

  • Angels are active in our lives - an angel visits Jospeh three times and then Mary and Joseph as a couple, so four appearances in one story, pay attention to angels

Mark

  • No Christmas story here - the birth of Jesus is not mentioned in the book of Mark, this book is all about Jesus around age 30, but not before

  • Keep it simple - Mark is short, covers the essentials, makes the point that God brings hope, especially to those in the wilderness of life

Luke

  • This is the Christmas story you probably know best (A Charlie Brown Christmas recites this one) - a historical account with hints to political and cultural references of the time, setting the stage for a transition away from empire and toward love

  • Social disruption - he tells the story of Caesar’s empire actually not having ultimate power, but instead this infant of young poor refugee parents born in a stable has the profound power of love to change the world

  • Hope sustains - Luke suggests that God is about to do some amazing things here, this is a new beginning

  • Dayspring - in some translations Jesus is called Dayspring which means the beginning of a new era or order of things

John

  • Let there be light - John calls Mary “theotokos” which means “God bearer,” Mary brought light and reflected light and love into the world, we are each called to be light bearers today

  • Light and Dark - when humanity is in darkness, God illuminates our paths with light

  • Magnetic pull - the warmth and love of God is something we are drawn to and pulled toward

  • Darkness is an absence of light, darkness is an absence of love

Okay, those are my notes, I hope that helps you get a feel for the spirit of each gospel’s Christmas story. 

In the hustle of holidays, return to your rootedness in the stories of your people, family, tradition, and culture.

What do you believe? Where do you find hope? What brings you joy? How do you keep a sense of faith? What light do you see in the world? How do you connect to your own soul during your holy days? 

I love sharing what I’m learning or discovering with you each week. It was fun to be a student of Kate’s last night. She is seeing people privately as a spiritual director and faith coach. You can book a free 15 minute call with her to explore her work further or read more about her here. She will be teaching more classes on spiritual formation in the coming months. Our Winter Class Schedule will be live later this month and you will be the first to know what is happening in KC and online. 

Make these holidays meaningful to your soul. Go a little deeper into what you believe and where you find hope.

From my hopeful longing soul to yours,